I think this is a great suggestion. I know that amateur and even professional photographers (non-Press persons) face endless nuisance simply due the lack of an official looking card.
Do we actually have an 'office'? If so, its address on the card would help. Only thing is since probably the 'number' might be a volunteer, we should try not to have such persons bothered by nuisance calls. Perhaps we can take a SIM for the purpose and attach it to an answering service (computer-based).
On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 4:55 PM, Fae faenwp@gmail.com wrote:
Could I make a practical suggestion to help those that might be challenged in public places or when going into institutions?
In the UK we are looking at making "official" press cards for established Wikinews reporters. I know from experience that taking photographs in India can be problematic for many reasons, not just the police. If the local chapter could produce letters of authority or "press ID" for regular contributors, this might make our contributers feel a bit more confident about having something to produce when questioned about what they are doing.
The "press ID" in the UK would work by the person having their identity on file with the London office. If there are questions about their work (for example photographs being taken or interviews) then the person's real life ID can be checked by phoning the chapter office. This does not have to compromize their on-line identity if anonymous, as real-life identity is kept confidential by the chapter. In most cases we would expect that having an "official" looking card or letter would solve most problems on the spot, particularly when the Wikimedian can say "please phone my office if you want to confirm my details".
You can find a discussion about the press ID system for the UK at http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Microgrants/Wikinews_reporter_IDs. WMUK would be open to supporting an internationally recognized system along these lines.
Thanks, Fae -- http://enwp.org/user_talk:fae Guide to email tags: http://j.mp/faetags
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